Literary Analysis Of George Orwell's A Hanging By George Orwell

In his essay “A Hanging,” published in 1931 in the British literary magazine, author George Orwell wanted to show how inhumane and cruel we tended to be so in a certain situation, and this inferred our relatively short life. Orwell uses descriptive words to try to help the readers create a nice vivid image in their minds of what is going on throughout the story. The author creates an atmosphere full of tension by a variation of participants. Although the guards belong to a group of civilized men and treat the prisoners like uncivilized people, the dog shows more compassion for the prisoners rather than the guards.
George Orwell uses this story to show how people can deal with monotonous repetition of murder day by day. The author also explores …show more content…
Orwell sets the story in Burma where it is described as a”Sodden morning,” and “sickly light like yellow tinfoil” (Orwell, 1931, p.1). Orwell wants to create a mood that is dark and foreboding, and also having an ominous atmosphere. Orwell describes the cells like they are animal cages meaning that they are small and confined. The author wants to create the image that the cells there are very small and that the prisoners living conditions are being treated inhumanely. The author George Orwell also states “It was a brick erection like three sides of a shed, with planking on top, and above that two beams and a crossbar with a rope dangling” (Orwell, 1931, p.1). Orwell wants the readers to fully understand that the execution place is small but still has enough room to have the execution. It seems that Orwell wants the readers to imagine living through in the tough environment, and seeing that every day can be depressing. Throughout the essay, the readers get a load of information about the prisoners and their treatment. Orwell describes the Hindu man as “puny wisp man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes” (Orwell, 1931, p.1). In this quote Orwell wanted to make the Hindu man sound very weak and unthreatening to society. The author also makes it a point to make him look unthreatening by not stating his crime. Therefore the readers cannot pass judgment upon …show more content…
There is an abundance of evidence within the story to show that the superintendent and the guards are uncivilized. There was one point in the essay in which the guards prove to be very uncivilized, and that was when “We looked at the lashed, hooded man on the drop, and listened to his cries” (Orwell, 1931, p.3). Here the guards are just listening to the cries of the prisoners so that they can be proud of themselves. The guards are doing as they are told by the superintendent, but the guards still enjoy their job. Although the guards are uncivilized does not mean that they want to kill the prisoners. The guards see this as their job, and they are just trying to get the job done. There comes a point in the story in which the superintendent makes his presence known. When the Hindu man was found “The superintendent reached with his stick and poked the body,” (Orwell, 1931. p.3) and this is when the superintendent really makes a statement within the story. There is no reason to poke the body, but he does it anyway because he thought it would be okay due to hearing the stories of others doing the same thing. Although he may be checking to see if he is dead, the superintendent shows the disrespect that he has for the prisoners. The superintendent tells a story about how he heard that doctors would pull the les on the body. The doctors would do so just to make sure the body